I’m the only person who knows the answer, and I know I have to do something.
My legs carry me out from behind the dumpster. I stand in the open alley, and there’s nothing left to argue with myself about.
The pharmacy bag is still in my hand.
I don’t know why that’s the thing that gets me moving. It’s absurd, maybe, that I witnessed all of that, still holding a paper bag from a hag. But somehow, it anchors me. I take a deep breath, set the bag down, and retrieve my phone from my jacket.
My hands are steadier than they should be. I dial.
It rings twice before someone picks up. “911, what’s your emergency?”
I close my eyes and turn away from the alley. “I want to report a murder,” I say, and I’m proud that my voice doesn’t shake. “The killer… The killer is Rakan Al-Rashid.”
7
Shapes in the Smoke
Rakan
The two women are still kissing. The dark-haired vampire on the velvet sofa buries her hand in the hair of the blonde succubus by her side. Their mouths move together in a practiced dance. The blonde moans, and it’s a sound that would set human men aflame.
I want nothing more than to not be here with them. It feels a little inhospitable, but ruining your chances with a beautiful woman would make anyone a bad host.
The female vampire pulls back, breaking the kiss. Her dark eyes lock onto mine, and she pats the empty space beside her. “Rakan,” she calls over the heavy bass of the music. “Don’tjust stand there brooding. Join us.” The other woman leans in, echoing the invitation with a seductive smile.
A month ago, I would have. Tonight, I can’t muster even the slightest bit of interest.
The penthouse is at full capacity, the way it always is during an infamous al-Rashid party. I’ve thrown variations of it for longer than many civilizations have existed. There are humans here tonight who spent actual wishes to get an invitation. I granted some of them myself, and at the time, it struck me as faintly amusing.
The bar runs the full length of the east wall, stocked with spirits that haven’t been produced in decades. The massive windows extend over the entire upper floor. Asterion Stavros built everything in this penthouse to my specifications and never complained, despite my demands.
“It’s a little eccentric,” his sister Ariadne once told me, “but it suits you.” Perhaps it did, back then.
Suddenly feeling exasperated, I move away from the brunette’s corner. The dancing crowd parts without being asked. It always does, and tonight I don’t even register it.
I thought I’d seen everything. I thought the mysteries of the human heart were easy to untangle.
You’re a fool, Rakan al-Rashid. You don’t deserve what she offered you. You never did.
My self-recrimination isn’t helping, but fortunately, I’m not alone. From the top floor of the penthouse, Sigurd lifts a tentacle in greeting.
He doesn’t usually come to my parties. He likes his privacy too much, and I respect that. If he’s here, it’s only because he knows, or at least suspects, that something is wrong.
I’d be irritated by his ridiculously efficient way of gathering information if I weren’t so grateful. I climb the stairs, desperate for the company. And the distraction.
“The party doesn’t seem to agree with you tonight, Rakan,” he comments as I reach his side. “Why did you throw it if you’re not interested?”
Using a tentacle, he holds out a full glass, and I take it without looking. “It’s habit, I suppose. It’s something to do.”
Sigurd looks at me with his deep, glowing eyes and waits. He’s extraordinarily good at waiting. It’s one of the most irritating—and the most comforting—things about him.
“Something happened at the Obsidian Lounge,” I admit. “With Iris.”
“I gathered.” He flags a server for a fresh glass and doesn’t rush me.
So I tell him. Everything that went right. Everything that didn’t. The private things I keep for myself. I’d never share anything so intimate about Iris with anyone, not even my closest friend. But the sex is really not the root of my problem. Far from it.
When I finish, Sigurd stares at me in what, for him, may be disbelief. “Three thousand years,” he says, “and that is the best you could come up with in that moment?”
